Li Yunfeng, president of Marco Polo Sea Industry Group, was very fortunate to encounter this crisis at the age of 40, rather than at 30 or 60, so that he had enough ability, connections and physical strength to deal with it. (Photo by Chen Jiajun)
Li Yunfeng, president of Marco Polo Sea Industry Group, became the president of a listed company at the age of 30, but this achievement does not guarantee that his future career will be smooth. At the age of 40, Li Yunfeng encountered an unprecedented crisis in his life and career.
There were three choices before Li Yunfeng at that time:
The first was liquidation,
the second was judicial management,
the third was to find investors.
Driven by his sense of responsibility, he chose the most difficult path.
Even if we had to do it all over again, it would still be unavoidable. It came too quickly, too quickly, too fiercely, and too fiercely! Many elders in the industry, over 80 years old, said they had never seen a crisis of this magnitude and it was too scary. Just like a big earthquake, there is no way to avoid it. "
Marco Polo Marine Group President Li Yunfeng (41 years old) made this comment on the global industry crisis caused by the sharp drop in oil prices in the second half of 2014.
As a comprehensive maritime logistics group, Marco Polo Marine Its business is divided into three parts: shipyard (shipbuilding and repair), offshore supply and offshore engineering, and towing and barge fleet. This company was originally just a supporting role in the family business. After Li Yunfeng took over in 2003, it developed and was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2007. , the associated company BBR was listed in Indonesia in 2013.
The success of becoming the president of a listed company at the age of 40 did not guarantee that Li Yunfeng encountered an unprecedented crisis in his life and career. "Lianhe Zaobao" said in an interview: "The previous oil price was more than 120 US dollars, and some analysts even said it would reach 200 US dollars. The oversupply is not serious and demand has been growing. I was thinking that even if it dropped, it would only be 70 or 80 US dollars, and business could continue at this price. I never thought that the price would drop to more than 20 US dollars. "
The group began to suffer losses in fiscal year 2015. In fiscal year 2016, the S$50 million bond sought to be extended for three years, but no coupons were paid. In fiscal year 2017, the loss was as high as NT$312.69 million.
It faced a big crisis in 2017
" Once the oil price drops, oil companies will no longer continue to develop and invest, and the demand for ships like ours will be problematic, and the entire oil-related ecosystem will be affected. Less work, more competition, and lower prices. "
" The entire industry is very hard. Some companies are facing early termination of contracts, and contracts that were due to be renewed when they expire are also cut off. In 2016, we thought the situation could be handled, so we asked bondholders to delay repayment. However, the funds that were supposed to be received and the new funds that could be obtained were not received, so we faced a big crisis in 2017. "
There were three choices before Li Yunfeng at that time: the first was liquidation, the second was judicial management, and the third was to find investors.
He said with a wry smile: "To be honest, giving up is the easiest choice. Who do you think would invest in a company that is about to fail or be liquidated? It won't work unless you do a really comprehensive reorganization. "
However, his sense of responsibility drove him to choose the most difficult path.
His character dictated that he would not give up.
"I have a character that is not easy to give up. Of course, you ask me if I know how difficult reorganization is. I don’t have this experience, but I feel that I can’t just give up. We have suppliers, shareholders, bondholders, employees and so many stakeholders. We must be responsible and do this well. "
For Li Yunfeng, employees and teams are the most basic assets. There are two to three hundred administrative and shipyard employees in , Singapore, and Indonesia alone. At that time, some companies in the same industry were facing liquidation and judicial management, and their employees were very lacking. A sense of security; he has not laid off employees, and his employees are willing to accept considerable salary cuts to advance and retreat with the company.
From crisis to turnaround, Li Yunfeng’s eyes and words are full of determination, but he does not mind showing some weakness, showing that entrepreneurs have the courage to do so. Courageous and humane.
likes his grateful and optimistic words: "I am very lucky to encounter this crisis at the age of 40, because I have enough ability, connections and physical strength to deal with it. If I were 30 or 60 years old, I would not be able to do it. "
I don't even have time to cry.
After Li Yunfeng was determined to save the group, he sought advice from friends with experience in restructuring; he also studied some related cases, and with the help of professionals, he finally formulated a restructuring plan. In November last year, he successfully found nine white warriors and was willing to invest 60 million yuan to rescue them. However, the one-year restructuring process was very long, arduous and difficult.
"My first thought at the time was that I couldn't find peers. They might be facing the same problem and wanted to save their own company. The second was who had so much money. At first I thought it would be easy to find 60 million yuan, but it turned out that One of the promised ones went back on his word, and the other one later went back on his word. I looked at all of the top 20 wealthy businessmen in Singapore.
"If I'm lucky, I can meet with five or six investors a day, one after another. 150 people. They all refused, some because they were not familiar with this industry; some believed that oil prices would never come back, and even if they did come back it would only be five or six years later; some believed that we are just business partners and not very familiar with each other. "
was in a situation every day at that time. In addition to looking for investors, he also had to deal with banks, suppliers, bondholders and employees. Before going to bed at night, he often asked himself: "Should I give up tomorrow? "But when I woke up in the morning, I suddenly had a new idea.
"I don't cry. It doesn't mean that I will get better if I cry. It should be said that I don't have time to cry. Sometimes you can't imagine that there are three changes in a day, good or bad, good or bad. If your heart is too weak, never do this. "
Can't bear to look back on the past
Even in the most difficult period, Li Yunfeng was unwilling to open his mouth to family members. He said that the family is engaged in mining, lithium batteries, real estate and other businesses, and also needs funds for operations, so it is not feasible.
Nine people Among the White Warriors, the first one to agree was Super Group founder Zhang Qimu, whose private investment company Apricot Capital invested 20 million yuan; later, Yanlord Land (Yanlord Land) chairman Zhong Shengjian was also willing to invest 10 million yuan. Only one is from the industry, and the others are from the catering industry and real estate. Looking back on the past year, he said with a wry smile: “It’s scary to think about it. When you don't know what's ahead, just move forward. But now that you know all the steps and the hard work involved, if you ask me if I would do it again, I might have to think about it for a long time. "
Li Yunfeng regards the restructuring plan as a precious learning process. What he has to do now is to look forward.
Thanks to his family and friends for accompanying him all the way.
Li Yunfeng's other identity is the husband of Taiwanese female star Vivian Hsu, which also made him difficult to deal with during debt restructuring. Facing another layer of pressure, the entertainment media is paying close attention to this matter and is looking at it with a magnifying glass.
"42-year-old Vivian Hsu has been making a comeback after giving birth to save money for her husband's family to solve their difficulties. "I took out biscuits to satisfy my hunger during the intermission of filming the commercial. I looked a little tired. It seemed that I had no time to spare day and night." "This type of reports comes out from time to time.
He said: "Try not to read the entertainment section. Those false reports will make you angry. Sometimes my heart may be hardened and I ignore it completely, thinking this is... Oh, just smile! She actually never stopped working, except when she had children. "
Li Yunfeng is very grateful to his family and friends for accompanying him all the way during the reorganization process.
"When you get home and see someone who puts pressure on you, how can you bear it? There were several times when I faced unfriendly attitudes from investors and suffered various grievances. When I came home and complained a little, she would encourage me with very positive words. Soul mates are very important and so is the support of family. My father told me to be responsible and persevere, and my mother encouraged me to wait until the bridge ends. "
Friends do not necessarily need to invest money. For Li Yunfeng, a phone call to ask if he would like to drink coffee or have a meal and a few greetings are enough.
His father-in-law gave him the word "Yuanrong" to help him deal with the crisis.
Li Yunfeng's father-in-law died of illness on January 1 this year, which made him lament the impermanence of life. He said: "After the debt restructuring was completed at the end of last year, I had a two-hour meal with my father-in-law when I accompanied my family to Taipei. He was very concerned and I explained the entire restructuring process to him. Unexpectedly, when we went to Japan to ski, I heard that something had happened to him, so I rushed back to Taiwan. "
Last year, my father-in-law asked a calligrapher to write a picture of "Huanrong" as a gift, which played a key role in handling the crisis.
"My wife laughed and said that I saw it when I went out and saw it when I came home. Really, it always reminds him to be polite in dealing with others, which is really helpful."
is actively looking for orders in this area
last year Under the debt restructuring plan at the end of March, bondholders reduced the debt of 51.69 million yuan by 72%, and the remaining 28% was paid back in half in cash and half in stock. The 200.22 million yuan in debt from banks and financial institutions was reduced by 69%. Of the remaining 31%, 68% was repaid in cash and 32% was converted into shares.
In addition, the group also issued up to 269.24 million free warrants at a ratio of 8 out of 10 shares. Each warrant can be converted into 1 share at 3.5 cents. Members of Li Yunfeng's family originally held about 62% of the shares, which was diluted to 6% and are no longer major shareholders.
Li Yunfeng said: "This is not the focus. The most important thing is to keep this company and slowly increase our holdings when opportunities arise in the future. There are some changes in the board of directors, but I am still the president and my team is responsible for daily operations." The share price of
Group was originally maintained at around 0.40 yuan per share, but fell below 0.20 yuan in 2016. It was only 5.9 cents before the suspension in April last year. The stock resumed trading the day before yesterday and closed at 5.3 cents.
He has long been mentally prepared for the fluctuations in stock prices and believes that the most important thing is to do his duty right now. He said that during the year of debt restructuring, there was basically no time to fight for business; now the group's balance sheet is relatively strong and he hopes to make good use of its shipbuilding and repair facilities. He revealed: "The shipyard can build seven or eight ships, but only one is under construction now; the dry dock can be used to 80%, but the current utilization rate is still very low."
Group has always been quite active in this region, including Indonesia, Malaysia , Brunei , Thailand, Myanmar , Vietnam and Australia, etc., so I will look for orders in this area in the future.
Oil prices have rebounded, but orders have not yet fully returned, but the mood of the entire industry is more optimistic than before.
Some people believe that the world is moving in the direction of environmentally friendly cars, and China will no longer use diesel after 2030, and the entire fundamentals have changed. However, Li Yunfeng believes that the demand for oil will continue to grow, especially in China and India, where there is still a lot of room for growth in car usage, and the demand for oil in this regard is still huge.
text / Chen Aiwei photography / Chen Jiajun from / Lianhe Zaobao
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